


Can't Win for Losing

by DevinBourdain



Series: Ghosts of the Past [1]
Category: The Avengers (2012), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Badass Clint, Clint Needs a Hug, Clint whump, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), questionable SHIELD agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-21
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-12 13:43:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/812222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevinBourdain/pseuds/DevinBourdain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the week Barton is having, he'd ask if there was anything else that could go wrong but feared the universe would take that as a challenge. He may have been kicked off the Avengers but when the team gets into trouble Clint maybe the only one that can help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Avengers characters are not mine, just borrowed for this story.
> 
> Reviews are always welcome and appreciated
> 
> Follows The Devil Looks After His Own.

The bow went flying across the range landing with a huge clatter. There was nothing wrong with Barton's last bow, but someone had an epiphany and thought they needed to fix something that wasn't broken; well it was broken now. It only cost Clint an entire afternoon to prove that the development team at SHIELD needed to go back to the drawing board. Not bothering to pick the pieces of their failed attempt up, he grabbed his quiver and headed up to the main kitchen at Stark Tower.

Stark had decreed that the team was going to have a celebratory dinner for his return to New York. Tony and Pepper had gone to LA to recover from Loki, and now that the billionaire was back to a hundred percent he had decided to return to the tower. Normally Clint found Stark's 'dinner parties' for the team an exercise in restraining himself from stabbing Tony to stop the rambling, but after the horrible day he had so far he kind of wanted the normal dysfunction the team offered. Heaven help him, he was even looking forward to the over indulgent ritzy steak and lobster dinner Tony had promised.

Since Natasha decided to take other assignments and maintain distance from Barton, he found himself extremely lonely. It's not that Clint wasn't use to being alone, or that he didn't prefer it to being around people; but knowing that his partner needed space and Coulson was dead, the two people that managed to become important to him, left him feeling alone in a way he hadn't felt since before he joined SHIELD. He found himself seeking out time with the other Avengers more and more often, even if it was just sitting around the dinner table in silence.

The elevator doors opened and the sounds of the team bantering drifted down the hall. Clint glanced at his watch; it was past eight o'clock, but he hoped the team hadn't waited too long for him. He rounded the corner into the dining room and all conversation stopped. The awkward pause had everyone looking up from their mostly empty dinner plates. The team had clearly started sometime ago without him. Normally it wouldn't have bothered him to not be included, but he had been invited and was looking forward to the company.

"What are you doing here?" asked Steve looking slightly confused. He glanced towards the newcomer at their table then back to Clint who was still lurking near the door.

"I thought... weren't we having a team dinner tonight?" Barton hoped he didn't sound too disappointed.

"Agent Zalle told us you weren't joining us tonight because you had some weapon tests to perform," clarified Steve. He didn't want members of his team to feel excluded; and, despite the archer's best attempts, he was looking a little dejected.

The agent that was sitting in Clint's usual spot turned towards the archer. If she was at the tower that meant that Fury finally signed off on a handler for the Avengers. Barton had never worked with Zalle personally, but he had heard of her reputation and if she was taking over the Avengers then Fury was really pissed over everything that had happened with Loki. "Have you concluded your tests Agent Barton?"

"Yeah, I think they need to go back to the drawing board," muttered Clint still standing in the doorway. Agent Zalle leveled Clint with a hard glare. He wanted to respond with some sort of snide remark; but that wouldn't be the best way to start his relationship with the team's new handler, and making trouble right now wasn't the most advisable course of action. "Weapons tests are complete ma'am," stated Hawkeye, though he drew the line at saluting.

"Very good agent. I expect your report to be on my desk by 0500 hours tomorrow morning."

"Sit down, I'll have the kitchen make some more food," offered Tony surveying the empty dishes and bare bones left on their plates. The dinner was awkward to start with, what with their new handler joining them uninvited, but now the tension in the room was crushing. Stark believed he might actually be witnessing the rumoured ability of SHIELD agents to kill just by staring at people in progress.

"No that's alright; I have a report to write. Enjoy your evening." Clint turned and quickly left the room.

Bruce let out a huff, "if you'll all excuse me." The doctor stood, pushed back his chair and retreated to his room. Zalle hadn't exactly endeared herself to him that morning, but he hoped her brashness in the lab was an isolated incident. Seeing the way she was treating Clint was a foreboding sign that their new dynamic with SHIELD wasn't going to be pleasant; this was why Bruce stayed away from shadowy organizations.

Rogers politely adopted an 'I'm not impressed' demeanour and Pepper silently left the table. "Good team dinner," applauded Stark as he openly glared at their new handler. He now knew what his new project was going to be. Naturally he'd have to be stealthy in making their new handler's life hell, they were still trying to smooth the Director's ruffled feathers; but agents with sticks up their asses were just too much fun to pass up.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The soft knock at Clint's door caused him to pause. He glanced briefly at the laptop screen and opted to delete the twelve lines of 'the piece of crap broke. Not ready for field use' that he had typed for his report so far. "Yeah?"

"It's Pepper," called the CEO through the door.

"Come in," replied Barton as he closed the laptop.

Pepper walked in carrying a tray of food that smelled delicious. She placed it on the desk beside Clint and pulled over a chair to sit next to him. "I brought you some dinner."

"You didn't have to do that."

"No, but Ms Zalle shouldn't have told us you were going to be on the range all night or we would have waited for you. You still need to eat, even if it's not quite the party Tony had planned."

"Thanks," replied Clint as he cut into his filet mignon.

"Can I ask you something?"

Barton swallowed hesitantly. "Sure, I guess."

Pepper pondered her words. "Agent Zalle doesn't seem the most approachable person but she seems even colder towards you..."

Clint took a swallow of his beer. "I have the tendency to put a bug up people's asses. Zalle's a career oriented, by the book, only black and white, no shades of grey type of person and I'm really not; it's actually a well known fact that I'm not. Fury assigned her because she's a hard ass, not because she's going to make friends with the team. So she's going to ride me for awhile; it's fine. Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure?"

"Fury's not wrong. Our successes are phenomenal, but our failures stand to be world ending. We screwed the pooch last time and now we have to pay; if that means I have to sit here all night and write a stupid report then..." he shrugged "it's not going to do the team any good to start causing trouble now."

Potts offered a small smile. The team was holding it together, but things hadn't been the same. They'd survived Loki, but at the same time it felt like they'd really lost. Natasha had taken a long term undercover assignment. Pepper could tell how much that had hurt Clint; and the rest of the team felt they had failed them both on that account. Thor would be his usual self when he was with the group, but he became very quiet and sad when Pepper happened upon him on his own. Steve and Bruce wandered around like the weight of the world rested solely on their shoulders and Stark was... Pepper wasn't sure what his reaction was, but he certainly wasn't his usual self.

"Speaking of trouble, I should probably go and make sure Tony hasn't done something stupid like put Nair in Zalle's shampoo."

"She's staying here?" asked Clint; hoping not.

"She said she wants to observe the team dynamic; so she'll be here for awhile."

Perfect thought Clint, that's exactly what I need right now. "Thanks for dinner Pepper."

"You're welcome," she paused at the door, "if you need to talk about anything Clint, you know where to find me." Barton nodded and went back to trying to type his report.


	2. Chapter 2

The word conspiracy flashed in Barton's head. Seriously, he must've somehow managed to really offend all the machines of the world because they definitely seemed to have it out for him. If JARVIS hadn't sworn that Tony had nothing to do with his technological fiasco, he would be in Tony's lab right now having a bird. His computer crashed at two in the morning and after an hour of profanity and JARVIS trying to restore Clint's file, he finally had to resort to trying to retype it. All of which would have been par for the course this week; but the archer's problems didn't stop there. He had just finished typing at 4:45, enough time to print and place the useless report on his handler's desk, except for the fact that the printer was out of ink.

Fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes to get to another printer in a technological based building and print the report and get it to Zalle's office; totally doable. Clint still had hope that he would succeed, even after he found a lab with a printer and only had seven minutes to spare. After that printer refused to print his report, Clint ran down to Tony's lab. He would pay for a new printer, knowing that the smashed remains he left in the other lab weren't salvageable, if Stark would just print the report for him.

It was five o'clock when Barton punched his code to open the door to Stark's lab. He was going to hear about it from Zalle now, but he wasn't going into that office without the damn report. Tony was passed out slumped over the table drooling. "Tony!"

Stark startled awake and looked around to see what roused him. "What can I do for you Barton?" yawned the inventor.

"Computers hate me today. Can you print the report on this jump drive for me?"

Tony scoffed at the stick Barton was passing him. "Print? Who prints anything anymore?"

"People who have to submit hard copy reports to bitchy handlers. Can you do it?" He knew he failed at keeping the bite and desperation out of his voice.

"Ok, Ok, I'm on it, calm down." Tony started digging in his pile of clutter for a printer. It took about ten minutes but he proved successful.

At five-fifteen Barton stood at attention in Zalle's office at Stark Tower, report in hand. Zalle took a moment to finish whatever she was working on, and another to scrutinize the man before her. "Apparently we need to work on your time telling skills Agent Barton."

Clint rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. Bring it on.

"When I say I want your report on my desk at 0500 hours, I mean 0500 hours not 4:58, not 5:01 but five o'clock. Was there something about those instructions that eluded you?"

"No ma'am," snapped Clint.

"Good; because I'd hate to think that a team charged with saving the world can't do something on time. Consider this you're only warning. The next offense will have consequences. Dismissed." Zalle absentmindedly waved Clint out of her office.

Clint stormed out of the office and took the elevator back up to his room. He just wanted to put the last twenty-four hours behind him. Maybe if he got some sleep when he woke up this string of bad luck would end. He pulled the sheets back and was just about to crawl into bed for some much needed rest when the alarm sounded.

"Oh tell me this is a joke JARVIS," sighed Hawkeye.

"I'm afraid not sir. The Avengers are required to meet in the garage for a mission."

Why not? Clint fumbled with his gear and grabbed his bow then made his way to the garage for the assignment.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkeye stood on the ledge of the building and watched his team in action. It looked like someone's science experiment went horribly wrong, and the street was filling up with blobby looking gnomes. Bruce had offered some explanation as to why they were multiplying but the science mumbo jumbo wasn't really Clint's thing; the gist was if you didn't kill them they split in two, so make your shots count. Barton could handle that part.

The bright side was Zalle was silently observing somewhere. Clint wasn't sure he really wanted her chattering over the comms. The last handler Fury had saddled the team with insisted on giving the team a blow by blow as if they weren't actively participating in the fight. Zalle may be stone cold, but at least she seemed to think the team could handle the situation.

Clint released another arrow and moved to the corner of the ledge to get a better angle on helping Thor out. A sharp buzzing noise sounded through Clint's comm. causing the archer to wince. He tapped the device frantically to try and make the painful noise stop; his ear was ringing but he did manage to get the sound to stop. He couldn't hear the team's chatter anymore but at least the noise stopped. He'd have to remember to get a new radio when the mission was over; in the meantime he'd just have to keep a close eye on the team since he couldn't warn them his radio was out.

Thor swung his hammer into a group of blob gnomes causing them to fly through the air. Hawkeye loosed an explosive arrow into one and the following explosion caused them all to explode covering the building, sidewalk and Clint in yellow slime. Barton wiped some of the goo off of his face and waved at Thor who was laughing at the archer's current state.

The team continued on taking out the enemy as fast as they appeared. Captain America figured out he had to squish them under his shield to get the gnomes to stay dead and not split. Iron Man was dissolving them with the energy from his repulsars. Thor was going to have to give Mjolnir some serious TLC when all this was over and Hulk was giving new meaning to toe jam.

Rogers paused for a moment to catch his breath. The gnomes were relentless but their numbers were dwindling. The ground trembled under his feet and Steve looked around to find out where the Hulk was. The green guy was pounding the goo into the side of a building but not doing anything to cause the ground to tremble. An ominous rumble echoed down the street and Steve laid eyes on the source. "Heads up guys; looks like there's a bigger one out there."

The team acknowledged as they laid eyes on the gnome that was easily as high as a three story building except for Hawkeye. The Captain began searching the rooftops to see where their sniper had gotten; it wasn't like him not to respond to a check in. He caught the archer out of the corner of his eye, precariously perched on the corner of the building above Thor. "Hawkeye respond. I need you to take that big one out with an explosive arrow."

"Agent Barton confirm your new orders," snapped Agent Zalle.

Silence rained over the comms as everyone waited for a reply that never came. Steve frantically looked around to see if either Thor or Iron Man were free to take out their biggest threat. Both were busy protecting civilians and Steve wouldn't be able to crush something that size. If they didn't kill it, it would split and they didn't need two that size roaming the city and Hulk was too far away for Steve to get his attention.

Hawkeye felt the building start to shake and paused in releasing his next arrow. He turned around just as the hand of the giant gnome reached over the side of the building to pull itself up. Clint turned around and switched to an arrow with a higher explosive. The creature just pulled itself up on Barton's rooftop when he let the arrow fly. Naturally it found its target and exploded sending a tidal wave of goo in every direction. It would have been fine if the archer's bad day hadn't decided to turn into a bad week.

Clint took a step closer to jump off of the raised ledge and back onto the main part of the roof to avoid the wall of goo when his foot slipped on a glob from the last bunch of gnomes he blew up. It wasn't his most graceful dismount off a building but he was high enough that he had time to deploy his grappling arrow and stop himself from splattering on the pavement below. He just pulled the arrow out of his quiver when he slammed into one of the balcony railings. Pain shot through his shoulder and the arrow slipped out of his grasp. He flipped over the railing and continued to plummet down. He managed to snag a hold of the railing on the balcony below and grunted in pain as his injured shoulder pulled with the force of stopping himself. Clint painstakingly grabbed a hold with his other hand and dangled ten floors above the ground.

Gritting his teeth he quickly released one hand to tap his radio. His other hand slipped fractionally until he clamped his other hand back on the railing. With the impact his shoulder suffered he didn't have the strength to pull himself up or hold onto the railing for much longer. "This is Hawkeye, can anyone swing by and pick me up; kind of hanging by a thread here people."

Silence. Crap! Busted radio. Clint started to frantically look around for help or some way to get himself onto that balcony. He would have asked if anything else could go wrong, but the universe would probably take it as a challenge.

Rogers heard the large gnome explode and continued with his smaller nuisances. He glanced briefly at the roof when he hadn't seen any arrows for a few minutes. Barton may not have been answering his comm. but he had still been taking out the enemy. Not catching sight of the archer he called Tony. "Stark, I lost visual on Hawkeye. Can you fly by the building and take a look?"

"On it Cap," replied Stark as he dropped the civilian he rescued off with the SHIELD agents that were holding the perimeter. He zipped over the empty roof then dropped down as he noticed the teammate in question. Hovering beside his hanging friend he said, "working on your circus act there?"

"Jokes later, help now!" grunted Clint.

"Hang on." Iron Man grabbed Barton and blasted off towards the rally point.

With the threat taken care of and clean up well on its way, Steve, Bruce and Thor made their way to join Tony as he waited for the medics to finish assessing their flightless bird.

"What happened?" asked Steve.

"Hawkeye here decided to ignore a very important rule about gravity," chuckled Tony.

"I'm fine Cap," assured Clint. "Just bruised and a little sore." Steve looked at the medic who nodded to support Barton's claim.

"You're sure?" checked Bruce.

Barton was going to try and ease their concerns, but braced for the impending argument instead as Agent Zalle stormed towards the group.

"Why weren't you answering your radio?" demanded their handler.

"Yay, good job team, way to save the day," enthused Stark as he drew Zalle's attention. "He's fine by the way. I could tell you were concerned."

"Radio's broken," mumbled Clint.

"Do you realize the danger you could have put the team in. What if they needed your help? You wouldn't be in a position to support them," scolded the irate agent.

"He said the radio broke ma'am. He was in just as much danger as the rest of us. Sometimes your technological marvels fail," interrupted Steve.

"I want all of your reports on my desk by 1700 hours today; the team debrief will begin at 1300 hours. Agent Barton you will report to my office at 1100 hours for a personal debrief. Doctor Banner, we will still have our meeting at noon," snapped Zalle as she stormed off yelling at several agents engaged in the cleanup effort.

"Well, I see that stick is still firmly planted up her ass," snarled Tony.

"I heard that Mr. Stark!" shouted Zalle from somewhere in the crowd.

"You were meant to!" called back the annoyed inventor.

Clint leaned over and buried his face in the mattress of the stretcher he was sitting on and let out a frustrated growl. This was just what he needed today.


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you know why you're here?" demanded Zalle.

"You ordered me here ma'am." Barton stood at attention; gaze fixed on a spot on the wall behind his handler's head.

"Did your smart mouth get you anywhere with Agent Coulson?" Clint shifted his gaze to look Zalle directly in the eye but bit his tongue. He had dealt with people like this throughout his whole career and as infuriating as their new handler was, he would survive this too. Handler for the Avengers was a very high profile position, and definitely a career maker for anyone that wasn't on Fury's list of top agents. After Zalle proved whatever it was she believed she had to prove, she'd calm down; Clint could wait her out.

"I don't like you Agent Barton." It was a stated fact without feeling attached.

"You've made that perfectly clear ma'am."

"You know what I see when I look at you?"

I'm sure you're going to enlighten me. Clint just smiled in response.

"You're a trouble maker and since you have a file as thick as my arm, I can see others have noticed too."

"I'm still here so I must be doing something right." He had every intention of keeping his mouth shut but sometimes he just couldn't help himself; no matter how many times he had to learn the hard way. Infuriating her would be the wrong way to go. She seemed spiteful enough to take it out on everyone not just him.

"We'll see. Your fan club has gotten a lot smaller since New York. There aren't many places for you to hide anymore. I don't like troublemakers Barton, they make things difficult. The type of situations we find ourselves in really don't need any added complications. This team is just full of troublemakers. Unfortunately I can't get rid of Stark, but I can get rid of you."

The archer's gut twisted. He knew his place on the team wasn't a lock; hell he hadn't even been Fury's twentieth choice to make the team. He earned his try out by the fact that Rogers needed a pilot and Natasha wasn't going without him. His performance had obtained him his position on the team, but the reality was he tended to be more trouble than he was worth and he knew there were others more deserving and qualified to stand beside superheroes than he.

He didn't want to admit it to himself but he liked being an Avenger, he wanted to be an Avenger. Barton joined SHIELD for a second chance and to make up for the things he had done; he took any opportunity or job they gave him, but this was the first one he wanted for himself. As much as the team drove him crazy, it was the first group of people he was actually starting to trust beyond having his back as a job required. He couldn't lose this and if that meant playing Zalle's game he would tough it out. "Are you removing me from the initiative ma'am?"

"I'm putting a note in your file. Three strikes and you're out Barton. I suggest you dig out your agent handbook and familiarize yourself with it because there are no more warnings; you step out of line or so much as look at me with disrespect you're out of here. I'm sure the Director can find you a nice remote outpost somewhere where you can run your mouth off and disobey orders by yourself," snapped Zalle. "Just for the record, I've seen your file."

The archer had to ponder that threat for a moment. All of his handlers had seen his file.

As if sensing his uncertainty she added. "I'm not talking about the generic one other handlers have been given."

That made his stomach drop. He always knew that out there in the big bad world was the file Coulson had put together on him, highlighting every dirty little secret that SHIELD could find on him. The file contained a detailed outline as to why SHIELD was sent to hunt him down fourteen years ago and by all rights justified his execution; but Coulson had thought better in a moment of weakness and brought the archer into SHIELD and buried the file somewhere only he and Fury knew.

It was sheer will that kept him on his feet. The urge to flee warred with the urge to throw up. It wasn't so much her opinion of him that mattered, Zalle clearly viewed him a little below dirt anyways, it was the thought of the team finding out what was in that file. Any reaction they had would be more than justified but losing what he had here, after coming so far would be cruel. He wouldn't blame them if they threw him off the Avengers, even exacting justice on his ass would be acceptable; it would be the looks of disgust and losing the people he was starting to consider calling 'family' that would kill him.

Seeing that she hit her mark, Zalle causally said, "dismissed."

Clint turned and briskly walked out of the office. He restrained himself from slamming the door.

Bruce watched the archer storm out from his seat outside their handler's office. Zalle had made it very clear that he was her second target and judging by the way the archer was storming out, he'd been her first. "Clint?"

Barton just waved the doctor off. Hopefully she wouldn't tear Bruce a new one too; though if she did it might solve their problem with their new handler. Barton would almost pay to see that woman tangle with the Hulk.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think she'd melt if we dumped water on her?" mumbled Tony over his Starkpad. Steve had dragged Stark to the meeting room, knowing out of all the team members Tony would be late. He wanted to minimize the things Zalle could get mad about since it was quiet clear she was going to tear them apart over their mission.

"What are you talking about?"

"Our new handler, I think she'll melt if we dump water on her," clarified Tony as he poured himself a glass of water. Steve quickly reached over and grabbed the picture and Stark's glass and moved them out of reach. "Or we could get Thor to drop a house on her."

Steve levelled him with a 'grow up' glare and Thor let out a deep chuckle.

"Oh come on Rogers, I thought you got those references."

The Captain tried to hide his exacerbation. "What are you looking at Tony?"

Stark didn't pause in his activity. "I'm reading the transcript from Bruce and Zalle's meeting."

"Is that not taking place right now?" questioned Thor.

"It is, JARVIS is recording it and transcribing it for me. Two minute delay."

"You're eavesdropping on a private meeting," scolded Rogers. He did secretly wonder what Zalle's issue with Banner was. Based on her outbursts so far they all had a fairly good idea why she was picking on Clint.

"My Tower, I'll do what I want; I should be doing a lot more. I missed her little meeting with Barton earlier but if she said anything to Barton the way she's tearing into Bruce ... a house is too good for her."

Further debate was halted as the door opened and Barton came despondently in. After he had flopped into a chair, Banner and Zalle joined them. Needless to say the last two team members to arrive looked positively miserable. The briefing was conducted with the usual lack of enthusiasm and arguing. Stark and Rogers were mildly concerned by the lack of protest out of their archer regarding the radio mishap and took it upon themselves to argue the point. Steve forced everyone to drop the issue realizing that Zalle wasn't going to change her mind and every time they volleyed a point back, Clint slumped further into his chair. Bruce remained quiet throughout the whole meeting, and Thor looked like he wanted to pummel someone.

The debrief came to an end and just as their handler was about to depart, Tony slid a piece of paper across the table. It came to rest in front of Zalle who swooped it up.

"What is this?" asked Zalle looking at the crude drawing and scribble that was supposed to depict the day's battle.

"That's my report. You wanted a report, well there it is; early too I might add."

"I expect a proper written report at 1700 this evening Mr. Stark." Her voice was cold and crisp.

"Tony Stark does not write reports," returned the billionaire.

Zalle let out a sigh. "If you don't do your paper work then Barton will file your report for you. I'll consider it payment for all the extra paperwork he created today. Do you have a problem with that Agent Barton?" she asked shifting her stern gaze towards the archer.

Oh boy did he ever have a problem with it, but he could see her self-satisfied smirk; that dare to cross over the line. "No problem," came the sullen reply.

"Good. I expect both reports on my desk tonight." She packed up her papers and made her way to the door. "Oh and Barton I expect we won't have a repeat performance of last time."

Clint grumbled, "no ma'am," as she walked out of the meeting room.

"Can she actually do that?" sputtered Stark.

"She's our handler; she can do anything she wants, short of shooting us and I'm pretty sure there's a loophole in the SHIELD handbook that would let her get away with that too," informed Clint.

"Look guys, Agent Zalle may not be someone we want to work with but she's our handler and until we can prove to Fury that he can trust us again he's not going to remove her. We need to put our personal feeling aside and behave like professionals. And Stark, do your own reports," said Steve as he left the group. The remaining team members followed suit.

Steve moved quickly down the hall to catch up with Agent Zalle. "Ma'am, can I have a word with you?" he called out once she was in sight.

The agent slowed her pace and turned towards her asset. "You have one minute Captain Rogers."

"Well ma'am you seem to have an issue with both Dr. Banner and Hawkeye."

"And as team captain you believe it's your business?"

Steve nodded. There really wasn't anything warm about the lady standing before him. There was something about her that managed to rub all the Avengers the wrong way and that was even before her apparent quest to make Bruce and Clint miserable. Fury had made it very clear that this was part of their punishment and Rogers knew they would have to put up with her for as long as the Director wanted but it still killed him a little inside to watch someone pick on members of his team.

"Well Captain, Agent Barton is trouble and Dr. Banner is an unstable accident waiting to happen. If Banner can't handle dealing with me, then what makes any of you believe he's fit for the field? Agent Barton needs to learn his place and learn it well. I will not have some reckless team member put you or the mission in jeopardy. I suggest you get your team to toe the line and measure up, or I'll be force to re-evaluate the members of this initiative; that includes how well their team leader can keep them in check. Good day Captain."

It was a cold slap in the face and Rogers stood there gapping as their handler continued on her way. Steve clenched and unclenched his fists and took a deep breath. Surely if he could survive living with Tony Stark he could handle Zalle for a while; though he was going to lock himself in the gym and make good use of the punching bags Stark had taped pictures of Zalle's head on.

At five o'clock Barton ran into Stark outside of Zalle's office. Stark eyed the stack of reports in the archer's hands. "What, are you writing the reports for the whole team now?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "I ran into Steve who had picked up everyone else's and I said I would deliver them."

Stark grabbed the pile and flipped through until he came to the report Barton wrote on his behalf. He skimmed over the first few pages and tucked it back into the pile. He then rolled the report he wrote and stuck it in his back pocket. "Let's go with yours. It's bigger than mine and has fewer pictures. Pictures seem to set her off."

The archer snorted and was going to come back with some comment about Stark's lousy Pictionary skills when the door opened and Zalle poked her head out. "Ah, I see you can tell time Agent Barton.

"Evidently," came the mumbled response.

"If there are any problems with the reports I'll be in touch first thing in the morning." With that she snatched the reports and retreated into her office.

"She's a joy isn't she?" asked Stark. "Come on Barton let's go to the living room and see if we can't boost morale around here." Stark put his arm around Clint's shoulder and forced him along.

They joined the rest of the team in the living room. The dark rainclouds that had gathered during their debrief were still hanging over everyone's heads. Bruce was quietly reading in the corner, while Thor was flipping through the channels on the TV and Steve had his contemplative look on. Barton shuffled in and joined Thor on the couch.

It was going to be a challenge but Tony was up for it. Stark snapped his fingers and declared, "we're going drinking tonight boys! We're going to drink copious amounts of alcohol until we black out and wake up somewhere where we don't know how we got there or where we are."

"Ah, drinking is a marvellous past time in which we can regal each other about our past glories, but why would we wish to not know where we would wake after?" questioned Thor though he was looking more enthusiastic.

"Because that is the sign of a good time," informed Tony.

"If waking up some place where you don't know where you are or how you got there is the sign of a good time than I owe a few bad guys thank-you cards and gift baskets," added Clint.

Bruce put his book down. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"I can't get drunk," informed Steve.

Tony smiled. "See Bruce, Cap can't get drunk. That means he'll be the responsible one and the rest of us can let off some steam. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Famous last words," muttered Clint as he followed the team down to the garage.


	4. Chapter 4

"This is really going to endear us to Zalle," grumbled Barton as he sat up to make room for Tony to sit down on the bench.

The jail cell door slammed behind the billionaire as he moved to sit next to the archer. "Hey I made a call to Pepper; she'll have us out in no time."

"This was a really good idea Tony," snarled Steve. Bruce just nodded in agreement.

Thor gripped the bars. "I do not understand why you don't let me call for Mjolnir. This pathetic cage would be no match for it."

"This cage wouldn't be a match for any of us, but we should keep the felonies down to a minimum, otherwise SHIELD will stick us in a hole so deep we'll never see the light of day again," explained Clint.

"Seriously, they know who I am, if we just explain who you all are I'm sure they'd find it in their hearts to let us go," proposed Stark.

"Yes, because I'm sure the Director would love nothing more than to see us on the news for getting into a bar room brawl," snapped Steve. Tony just shrugged his shoulders.

The billionaire perked up at the sound of high heels clicking down the hall. He turned and put on his most 'you know you love me' face he could manage. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

"Save it Tony!" The team was highly impressed at the absolute professionalism and perfection that Pepper could manage at such a late hour. "If you think I don't have better things to do than come down here at three in the morning to bail your sorry asses out of jail, you have another think coming."

"We're sorry Pepper," apologized Steve as the guard opened their cell door releasing the slightly battered and bruise Avengers.

"Not as sorry as you're going to be when you get back to the tower. Our lovely Agent Zalle heard all about your boys' night out and has called a team meeting for dawn." There was sympathy in that warning.

Clint scrubbed his hand across his face, careful of his black eye. "You guys can just shoot me now or leave me here to rot; either way is fine with me, just so long as Zalle doesn't get the satisfaction."

"Hey, we did this as a team, we'll face the consequences as a team," explained Rogers.

"She's not gunning for the team Cap," replied Clint. He had just tied the noose for his own execution.

The Avengers followed Pepper out the back and into the waiting limo. The trip back to Stark Tower was silent and they made it back in time to get cleaned up before their appointed ass chewing.

Zalle stormed into the briefing room and looked around to make sure all of the offending parties were present before she slammed her briefcase on the table. A tall blond in a suit followed and quietly sat at the back of the room.

Tony leaned toward Clint and whispered, "do you think it's her broom that's lodged up her ass or does she park that in the garage?" Well, if Clint was going to face the firing squad there might as well be some humour.

"Something you would like to share Mr. Stark?" Zalle snapped.

Tony shook his head and smiled. They might not have reached 'black out level' drunkenness but he had reached 'delightful' mood drunkenness and he didn't really want to ruin it by getting into it with some suit over little things.

"Who would like to explain to me why an elite SHIELD group wound up behind bars over a bar room brawl?"

"It was a situation that got out of control ma'am and it won't happen again," assured Captain America.

"No one got hurt; there were bumps and bruises on both sides. That chair practically bounced off Thor's head; I mean the guy's a rock and Bruce didn't hulk out, he was very Zen master in there. You should be proud," boasted Stark.

Zalle countered, "you picked a fight with civilians."

"They picked a fight with us," countered Tony. They may have been arrested for fighting but he was still itching to go another round and there was nobody he'd rather do it with.

The lead agent zeroed in on her target. "And what were you doing while all this was going on Agent Barton?"

"Me?" Trust Zalle to pin a team mishap solely on him.

Steve jumped into defend his teammate. "This wasn't his fault."

"Agent Barton is a representative of SHIELD and is required to conduct himself as the agent he claims to be at all times and not as some barbaric ruffian." Honestly she expected Barton to never behave himself appropriately, but that was to be expected when SHIELD went looking for agents in the gutter. They should just save everyone the trouble and stop employing embarrassing riffraff in the first place.

"Hey, Steve behaved worse than Clint did. Sorry to throw you under the bus Rogers but Captain America threw the first punch; Barton did nothing but back his team up. On the list of people who are culpable here he's at the bottom, so just back off," interrupted Stark. He'd had enough of trying to appease someone who was taking shots at his friend.

"Enough!" silenced Zalle. "It's time we started looking at alternate team line ups." That statement managed to get everyone's undivided attention.

"You don't need to do that," assured Rogers looking around at the people he had come to look at as friends. Thor let out a growl and Banner began to fidget in his seat. He could see Barton grow pale as he watched his future with the team being called into question, because there was little doubt in any one's mind who she was going to go after first.

"Why would we do that?" demanded the billionaire. "You don't switch all star players when their on a winning streak."

"There's a fair bit of redundancy on this team and not where we need it most. Agents Romanoff and Barton bring the same SHIELD presence and similar skill set to the team. You only need one spy in this group."

"Then I guess it's a good thing we have redundancy, because last time I checked Romanoff is off playing spy games for you guys and not here where she belongs," corrected Tony, hostility flowing off of him.

Clint slumped a little at that. Natasha's sudden desire to flee to parts unknown was his fault. Once again Loki had forced his hand against her and he honestly couldn't blame her for wanting to run as far away as possible from him. He'd do it himself if he could. The archer was surprised she had lasted as long as she did; he did excel at driving people away.

"Rogers covers the leadership aspect, Banner the science, you technical, Thor muscle and Romanoff stealth and espionage." Zalle turned to Barton who was doing his best to keep his mouth in check. "Explain to me what you do on this team?"

Clint bit his tongue and weighed the consequence to salvaging some of his pride. He had managed to hold onto a little self respect. If his days were numbered he might as well go out with a bang. "I'm the witty personality with killer aim."

Sensing that the argument was going to get kicked up a notch Steve decided to intervene and deflect Zalle from crushing the archer. "He's our sniper. I believe he's the best SHIELD has to offer and he has the support of this team."

"You don't need a sniper full time on this team and skills like that can be put to better use. Besides Agent Barton is suspended until further notice so there is no better time try out new members."

All eyes shot to the man that had been sitting at the back of the room. Clearly Zalle had already made her decision before ever entering the room.

"You can't do that," raged Steve. He was willing to put up with a lot to appease Fury after what they did, but was he willing to let this happen?

Ignoring his teammates' outrage Clint turned to Zalle. "What happened to three strikes?"

"Behaviour unbecoming an agent and a general bad attitude have earned you strike two, which is suspension, without pay. One more infraction and you're off the team permanently. The length of your suspension will depend on your teammates' cooperation. So I suggest if you want your sniper back you all better get it together and start following the rules."

The rest of the Avengers took a deep calming breath. Using Barton's reinstatement as leverage was a low blow but it did do the trick. They knew what being a part of SHIELD meant to the man and he had earned his spot on the team more than once. They didn't want to be responsible for him being kicked to the curb.

Clint shifted his focus to the table; it was bad enough he was having a horrible week now he was the carrot being dangled in front of his friends.

Going in for the kill Zalle added, "for the record Dr. Banner, you've earned your first strike."

"Oh come on! What the hell did Bruce do?" shouted Tony.

Iron Man's outburst went unanswered. "Since we are going to continue on with Avengers' business," continued their handler, "you are dismissed Agent Barton."

That was the final blow. Clint tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He knew how this was going to turn out; out of sight, out of mind. She'd bench him long enough that the new guy fit in better than he did, then it would be a question of if it was even worth bring the archer back or putting him to better use elsewhere. At least he could hope it was elsewhere and not termination with SHIELD.

Everyone watched as the archer silently got up from the table and left. He tried to hide his misery but they could all see it anyways. Their pity and apologetic looks didn't do anything to help.

Zalle didn't even have the courtesy to wait for Barton to clear the door before she added, "Agent Marks will be joining the team. He comes highly recommended and has an impeccable service record. He will be a valued addition to this team."

Agent Marks moved up and took the seat formerly occupied by Clint. Tony immediately slid his chair over not so subtly, creating a greater space between himself and the new guy.

"Is there a problem Mr. Stark?" asked Zalle as she crossed her arms and tapped her incredibly high heels against the floor.

"I don't play well with others and that includes you and him." Thor nodded his agreement and while Rogers supported the statement but he shook his head in disagreement. Creating a rift between them and SHIELD wasn't going to help their cause and only do Barton more harm.

Zalle cleared her throat. "Today at 1300 hours we are going to conduct battle simulations to see how you function as a team under various circumstances. We're going to focus on how well you fight without your talents. That means no weapons, no suits and no hulks."

"And why would we do that?" snapped Stark. Clearly she was full of horrible ideas today.

"What would you do if Rogers defected and attacked you without your suit?"

Tony sat straight in his chair, a serious expression on his face. "First, if Captain America defects then we were clearly playing for the wrong team to start with. Second, I'd distract him by telling him a little old lady needs help crossing the street. While he takes care of that, I'd have enough time to get the suit on."

"You need to know what to do if you don't have the things that make you special. We can't apologise to the world that we failed because you couldn't use your powers. It's my job to make this team better and that's exactly what I'm going to do starting today. I suggest you take from now until then to get acquainted with Agent Marks."

Thor frowned and chased her out of the room with his eyes. He didn't always understand the way things operated here, but he knew in his gut that removing their archer from the team was a mistake.

Needing to break the building tension Marks turned to Stark. "Jason Marks, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tony looked from the out stretched hand and back to the agent. "Don't hand me things."

"Tony!" chastised Rogers.

"It's not a thing, it's a hand Stark," clarified Jason.

"Look I can handle Rage, Boy Scout, Thunder, Feathers and Stabby but you don't make the cut; therefore you are a thing. I don't like you. And did we say you could speak?"

"Being childish isn't going to get Clint back on the team. We still have to play ball Tony, so let's try to make it a painless as possible for everyone," encouraged the Captain.

"It's alright Captain. We all have some adjustments to make. Maybe we can continue this at lunch when everyone's calmed down a little." Jason politely nodded to each Avenger and left them to settle the matter between themselves.

"We're falling apart. Romanoff's on vacation," started Tony wistfully.

"Natasha's off infiltrating a Hydra base," corrected Steve with a huff.

"Like I said, she's on vacation. Zalle's benched Barton and she's working at making Bruce feel likes he's two feet tall. I've had enough of this punishment crap from Fury."

Rogers slammed his fist down on the table. Everyone liked to complain about their current circumstance but everyone conveniently forgot how they ended up in this position. "What are we going to do? We messed up Tony, and it's not like we can just stop fighting in protest. Innocent people depend on what we do."

Stark leaped out of his chair. His rage focused on the blond sitting across from him; Rogers' perceived smug look grating on Stark's last nerve. "As team captain you should step up! We're about to lose Barton and your sitting there letting it happen. One day you're going to have to choose between being the perfect soldier or us!"

Steve rounded the table to stare down the billionaire. "We're in this mess because you decided to go off half cocked with the stupid idea to bring Loki here!"

"He was not alone in that action," corrected Thor as he rose out of his chair.

Tony clenched his fist and let it fly. He connected with Rogers' chin causing the super soldier to snap his head to the side. He shook his hand out trying to elevate some of the pain. Satisfaction filled him at making the Captain flinch even if he was never going to be able to use that hand again, it was seriously like punching a brick wall. "Someone had to be willing to do something to help Barton and you were too busy agreeing with Fury not to help!"

"Enough!" shouted Bruce as he pushed his way between his two teammates just as Rogers was preparing to return the punch. Thor pulled Steve back leaving Stark for Banner to deal with. "This isn't getting us anywhere. Steve's right; making this worse right now isn't going to help anybody."

Tony pulled out of Bruce's grip. "So you're siding with Captain holier than thou about playing nice to get our curfew extended again?" It definitely stung; out of everyone Tony thought Bruce would have his back. "We're supposed to save them, you know."

Steve struggled to shrug Thor off. "Who?"

"All the people that think we need to survive to do good in the world, the people willing to lay down their lives and souls to make sure that us, the heroes, are around to save people. We have superpowers and Romanoff and Barton don't, but they're both going to lay their lives down for this team to work because they believe that the four of us are something special; the least we can do is look out for them."

All the pressure to be larger than life, the faith everyone seemed to have in them to do amazing things was soul crushing. Too many times Stark had to stand by and watch good people die believing that he was more valuable in the grand scheme of things. He never would have chosen this team or these people for himself but they had somehow managed to grow on the billionaire.

Steve's voice softened. "Tony." Sometimes having to be in charge really sucked. There was nothing Captain America wanted to do more than tell Zalle where she could go and to leave his team alone, but Fury had laid things out for Steve and toeing the line was the only way things were going to smooth over. It was going to be the only way to keep this team together in the long run because the Director had not so subtly hinted that if they didn't follow the rules the Avengers would be disbanded and he had some very undesirable posts to put them all at. Even if the Director didn't have authority over all of them, he had it over enough of them for Steve to take the threat seriously.

Stark just shook his head and stormed out of the briefing room. He preferred to sulk in the solitude of his lab with a bottle instead of having group caring and sharing sessions.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony placed the bag of frozen peas over his black eye and flopped down onto the couch. He knew there was a reason he fought in a robotic suit and it was never clearer than at that moment. The team had somewhat survived Zalle's team practice without using their abilities, though looking at the sad bunch gathered in the living room, the success of the endeavour could be argued. Even Thor looked like he was sore.

"Well that was something I never want to do again," stated Bruce who was probably the best off. He leaned back in the cushy lazyboy and popped the footrest out.

Steve sat down next to Thor on the other couch. "She's not wrong about learning to fight outside our comfort zones. There a very real chance that we might not have our weapons of choice and it would be reassuring to know that we can still handle ourselves."

"If you're going to carry out your Zalle fan club duties, can you do it elsewhere?" asked Tony briefly peeking around the bag of peas.

"It is advisable to be skilled in many forms of combat. I must confess Agent Marks is a formidable adversary," shared Thor. Though he would much rather have the archer fighting with them, the newest temporary member of the team seemed to be well versed in the forms of combat their handler was trying to teach.

"Great, you're converting all of them," whined Tony sarcastically.

"No one is converting anybody Stark. How many times do we have to go through this?" Steve's voice started to rise with his growing irritation. Nobody liked the situation they were in but they could at least make the best out of it, at least look like they're trying. If he had some support if would make it easier when he was facing Fury during their private meetings that the team was unaware of. Steve had elected to take most of the responsibility in secret to try and spare the team some distress.

"Guys, do we really have to do this again. It gets us nowhere and helps no one," intervened Banner. The whole situation was adding a new level of stress for the doctor to try and control. He was torn with concern and sympathy for Barton, his own self pity and frustration over his dealings with Zalle, and he had to admit he kind of felt bad for Marks. The guy was just doing his job and it wasn't like he personally benched Hawkeye, but the team was treating him like public enemy number one. To Marks' credit he took it all in stride and Bruce wasn't sure if that made him like or hate the man more.

Maybe it was the agent's understanding that irritated Bruce. Marks was willing to give the Avengers time to sort things out for themselves and had even excused himself from coming back to the tower where the team planned to spend the evening. They were giving him the cold shoulder and Jason was still being gracious.

The team sat in silence for a long time until one by one they got up and silently wandered to their respective parts of the tower. None of them seemed in the mood for dinner or doing the whole team bonding thing they had planned earlier. It was early evening, but after their training sessions, bed was calling to sooth their aching muscles and wounded pride.

Clint had spent the rest of his day practising too. He might not be on the team but he could make sure that he was at a hundred percent should some miracle put him back there. At six o'clock, he made his way up to the dining room and waited patiently. The team didn't usually eat until seven if they were at the tower but being benched left Clint with a lot of free time and he had nothing else pressing. Six o'clock turned into eight.

"JARVIS, is the team back yet?"

"The team returned to the tower two hours ago. They are all presently in their rooms sir."

"Figures," he mumbled.

"Sir?"

"Never mind." Clint wandered to the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich. He sat at the kitchen table and prepared himself for what was undoubtedly going to be a trying week.

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The archer reached over and slammed his hand down on the snooze button but made no effort to get out of bed. It had been two weeks and he was still benched. The only communication Zalle had with him was bi-weekly emails stating he was still suspended. He had fired an email off to Fury with no success at getting him back on the team or sent on a mission of any kind. At this point he'd take any crappy assignment SHIELD could dream up if he just got to do something.

The team alarm sounded throughout the tower and Clint jumped out of bed and put on his uniform without a second thought. Grabbing his gear he headed for the elevator where he ran into Bruce. Together they arrived in the main lobby where the rest of the team had gathered getting a quick mission run down for their handler.

It seemed very straight forward; a Hydra operative had been sent to retrieve some sensitive research from a SHIELD research lab in New York. Natasha had relayed the information as well as the operative's identity and the small group of henchmen he was going to be dispatching to distract SHIELD from their main goal. Zalle handed out targets for each team member except Clint.

"Where do you want me?" asked Barton.

"You're suspended Barton; you don't get an assignment."

"We are about to engage our enemy, would it not be prudent to have all warriors participate?" questioned Thor.

"Not one that's not going to benefit the mission. Agent Marks will do just fine on this assignment. I suggest you all get a move on." She shot Clint one last icy glare before leading the Avengers out with Tony snarling the whole way.

Thor placed a hand on Clint's shoulder and the archer let out a deep sigh. "I do not agree with Agent Zalle's assessment and if you tell me what will make this better I will do it," offered the god of thunder. "The man of Iron was talking about an organized protest of some sort and organizing a league to demand your return. Do you believe this would be beneficial?"

Trust Tony to organize a protest on his behalf. "You don't need to launch a union protest for me Thor. Just go out there and save the day, that's what you need to do."

Thor nodded and began to turn away. "But thanks, it means a lot," added Clint before his teammate hit the door.

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Clint flipped another page in the business magazine Stark had left on the end table. He wasn't reading it but the act of pretending he wasn't bored and worried about the team distracted him from his real concerns. He paused as he heard the elevator ding open and the boisterous laughter of his friends filtered down the hall. He peered over the top of the magazine and watched the Avengers file into the living room and flop down on the various couches and chairs. Everyone looked to be in decent shape and judging by the tone and the jokes the mission must have gone off without a hitch.

"I hate to admit it but that was one impressive save Marks," boasted Stark as their new team member entered the living room.

"Just doing my part," offered Jason.

"You should have seen it Barton," started Tony who finally noticed the archer sitting on the couch. "A projectile was flying towards a baby stroller and Marks threw himself over a car to knock the baby and mom out of the way and I might add he managed to get the mom's number in the process."

"Congratulations, I guess." Clint put on the best fake smile he could manage as he listened to the team regal each other with tales of their latest success. It was odd to watch an outsider fit in so well with the team and slowly the conversation shifted to the point where the stories weren't even being told to keep Clint in the loop but to foster camaraderie amongst the Avengers.

Barton's phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket. He read the message from Zalle and wondered what he did now that she needed his immediate presence in her office. Clint managed to slip out of the living room silently and unnoticed by his former teammates.

Part of Hawkeye was glad the team seemed to be embracing their new member; it would make it easier on them when Zalle finally kicked him to the curb. They had been successful today and he knew Fury wouldn't have let Zalle put Marks on the team if he wasn't up to the challenge, so there was the relief that the team was in good hands. There still was the hurt that he could be replaced though; it seemed to be a constant theme in his life so it didn't come as any surprise but he still couldn't help but feel hurt. Of course, acknowledging that meant he had to come to terms with the idea that he was starting to think of himself as part of the Avengers family. Maybe Natasha had the right idea; leaving and putting distance between him and whatever that was, would allow him to regain some of his objectivity. The Hawkeye of last year would never feel left out or hurt by any of this; it probably wouldn't have even registered.

Barton knocked on the office door and entered when he heard his barked summonsed. "Agent Barton reporting as requested."

"I have a mission for you Agent Barton; one even you can't screw up."

Clint reached over and took the file that his handler was passing to him. He flipped through and read the mission outline. It was a pretty standard milk run that any agent could do; to say that it required his skills was a joke. She was right though, no one should be able to mess this up.

She watched as Barton's frown grew as he realized the simplicity of the job and waited for him to look at her. Seeing the questions start to form on his lips, she cut him off. "You leave tonight and are required for one month. This is a cushy babysitting job Agent Barton, and it is all that I'm prepared to offer you. You're still suspended from the Avengers, but the Director has decided that you should be put to some use other than taking up space on Stark's couch. Do you have any questions?"

All he had to do was protect a witness that had valuable information that SHIELD wanted. He'd much rather do something a little more becoming of a top SHIELD agent but it did beat sitting on the couch waiting for real heroes to return from useful missions and listening to their harrowing tales. Clint felt the need to prove that he was still useful, if he couldn't be on the team than he had to prove he could resume his former duties at SHIELD. "No questions ma'am."

Clint left her office and returned to his room to put together a bag. After he packed, he contemplated saying good bye to the guys before he left, but decided a silent exit would be for the best. Out of sight was out of mind; it would be easier for everyone if he slipped into the shadows.

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"What can I do for you Mr. Stark?" huffed Fury as Tony stormed into his office. The Director silently weighed the consequences of shooting Stark in the leg for being a constant pain in his ass. He put his pen down on the desk and gave the interruption all of his attention.

The billionaire flopped down in the nearest chair and put his feet up on Fury's desk. "I'm here to talk about Barton since no one else seems willing to."

Fury reached over and knocked Tony's feet to the floor. "What about Agent Barton?"

"We could start with where the hell is he, but my favorite subject is why the hell are you doing this to the poor guy?"

"He's an agent of SHIELD and has duties to perform. They don't always involve you or need to include you Stark. As for what I'm doing to him, I seem to recall explicitly telling you under no circumstance is Loki to return here but you did it anyways!"

Stark leaned forward and slammed his hands on the desk. "We were trying to save him!"

"But you didn't and in the process you nearly got yourself killed, you almost got Barton turned into a mindless slave and almost unleashed that maniac on the world again. This isn't a game Stark and as I already told Rogers the council will make their decision on whether or not they disband you based on her report."

"Rogers?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers has been running interference between you and the council. If Zalle's report says you can't function as a team and follow direction then you're done."

"Why didn't Steve just tell us that?"

"I told him not to. You all have a reputation and if you don't live up to it then the council is going to deem this an uncharacteristic example of how you function. If you all behave as you normally would and somehow Rogers comes across as managing to keep the team under control, then the team stays, Rogers keeps command, and I get to put someone I want in as your handler. I also get to stop hearing about it from the council. Though I do admire your team spirit."

"So this is a test for you and Rogers?"

"Let's try not to disappoint."

Stark took a moment and considered everything, and this time, he really looked at the larger picture, not just how things involved him or the people he was invested in, but everyone. Without a word, he got up and moved to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Fury, somewhat calmer than at the start of their meeting.

"I have to go and apologize to Captain tight-ass."

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The shower was calling his name. Clint threw his duffel bag on the bed and collapsed down next to it. After a month away it was so nice to crawl into a comfortable bed. He allowed himself a moment to relax, then summoned the energy to crawl towards the shower.

The simple mission didn't turn out so simple when their location had been leaked and Barton had spent the last seven days dodging the enemy while on the run with an important asset. It may have been a disaster, but it was a self-confidence booster, though a hot shower would probably be what brought a tear to his eye.

The alarm sounded through the tower and Clint reflexively reached for his gear but paused just shy of grabbing his bow. The alarm was to alert the team that they were needed and Zalle had so pleasantly informed Barton upon arriving at headquarters that he still wasn't a part of the Avengers. He wanted to go but he knew he'd be told in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't be needed. Reluctantly, he headed back towards the shower.

Evening finally rolled around, and Hawkeye was looking forward to dinner with the Avengers. Not only had he missed real food, microwavable Kraft Dinner and emergency rations just didn't do it, but he had missed the company. He wanted to create distance to make leaving easier and maintain objectivity, but Clint found he just wasn't ready to give that part up yet. He hadn't had his fill of the whole family thing; it was the first time he really had that and he could see the appeal.

It was the commotion down the hall in the Avengers main briefing room that caused Barton to veer from the kitchen. So far the shouting had consisted of Zalle, Fury, Marks and one of the council lesions he thought was named Talman. Barton hovered by the door hoping to eavesdrop on Fury chewing out Zalle but Fury asking if they knew if the Avengers were still alive kicked Clint into gear.

"What happened to the team?" demanded Clint as he burst through the door.

Fury wasn't surprised by the intrusion and cut off Zalle before she could begin her rant about whatever infraction she believed Clint was committing by intruding on their meeting. "It appears the Avengers have been taken during their last mission."

"Taken?" Clint absently reached for a chair. Anything that could get the better or a super soldier, hulk, god and Iron Man had to be formidable. He caught sight of Marks sitting beside Zalle and gritted his teeth. Marks was supposed to be part of the team, the team which was taken, so why was he sitting here now? Anger got the better of Clint and he marched over to Marks grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "What happened!?"

Thrown off guard Marks sputtered, "I needed to get the data back to SHIELD, I couldn't do anything."

Barton wound up to punch the sorry excuse for an agent but the Director grabbed his fist before he could let it fly. The archer was not so gently deposited in the nearest chair and told to stay seated.

"At 0900 hours this morning the Avengers were called out," started Fury, "After a brief skirmish with Hydra the team was called to a second disturbance on the other side of town. Before they arrived on location another incident was reported and the team had to split up to cover both calls."

Fury signalled Zalle to continue with the brief. "Iron Man and Thor continued on to the other side of town and Captain Rogers, Agent Marks and Dr. Banner back tracked to take care of the second call. Captain Rogers' team were able to overcome their adversaries but Mr. Stark reported that the Hydra agents had special knives that seemed to be quiet affective against Thor. They were outnumbered and the last transmission we received, Stark said they had taken Thor. When the second team arrived on the scene the evidence suggested that Iron Man had also been taken."

"It appears that in addition to having what looked like the knives Loki had, they also had a weapon capable of disabling Stark's suit," added Fury.

In her usual calm and collected tone, Zalle continued. "There was another call the Avengers had to attend to before we could thoroughly investigate the scene. I stayed behind to organize while Captain Rogers took his men to engage Hydra again. It was there that the enemy managed to capture Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers."

Clint turned his glare on Marks again. "What happened?! They're your team, why'd you get away and not them?"

Marks adjusted his tie. "Rogers surrendered when they managed to inject the Hulk with something that caused him to turn back into the doctor. They were going to kill Banner if he didn't surrender. One of the agents I engaged had managed to lift a computer drive from the facility they were attacking to draw us out. I felt it was vitally important to get it back to SHIELD."

"You abandoned your team to the enemy because you thought some drive that was their secondary target if it even was a target was more important!" Fury put a restraining hand on Clint's arm as he started to rise from his seat while he yelled at the other agent. "What are we doing to get them back Director?"

"The council has instructed us to wait for Agent Romanoff to obtain any information on the Avengers' abduction or current whereabouts. I also have agents combing the scenes for any clues but so far we are coming up empty handed." Fury hated not having the answers but he hated it when the council decided to get in his way of solving his problems.

Barton slammed his hands against the table as he got to his feet. Zalle called out to him as he stormed to the door. "Where are you going, Agent Barton?"

He turned on them sharply. "You can all sit with your thumbs up your asses, but I'm going to save my team!" Clint shared a nod of understanding with Fury before he left to grab his gear; he had a team to save.


	6. Chapter 6

Clint took another swig off his bottle of beer before clunking it back on the bar counter. He was hunched over the counter but still had a clear line of sight to both exits. His contact was thirty minutes late but Barton didn't have any other leads at the moment so he opted to give the man another hour before he left to come up with a Plan B.

Eventually a young man in a tattered, denim jacket took the seat next to the archer and ordered a Jack Daniels on the rocks. Keeping his eyes straight ahead, Clint muttered, "you're late."

The new arrival smiled as the bartender handed him his drink and threw a ten down before taking a sip. "You called me. If I've offended you, I can always leave."

"No."

"Last I heard you were all high and mighty running with them SHIELD boys. What brings you slumming down here with the rest of the trash?"

Barton put his beer down and cocked his head to look at the man. He promised himself he'd never have anything to do with Jeff again, but unfortunately this was his best shot at getting a lead on where to even start looking for his team. "I need some information and I figured you would have the answers I need."

Jeff nodded to himself. "What do you need and what are you offering in exchange?"

Clint checked to make sure the bartender was at the other end of the bar. "I have money and I need information regarding the disappearance of the Avengers."

Jeff let out a low whistle. "Avengers, that's pretty big. Worth more than money I think." Clint locked eyes with his companion. Jeff was from a part of his life that he would rather forget; anything he asked for was bound to be trouble. "Think something that important would be worth a favor."

The archer paused and silently weighed his conscience verses his friends. "What kind of favor are we talking about?" Clint would put up a front for negotiation purposes, but he knew there wasn't anything that Jeff could ask for that he wouldn't seriously entertain to get his friends back.

Jeff shrugged nonchalantly. "The kind that I can call in anytime for anything; I call, you come running, no questions asked."

This was a deal with the devil and any agreement here would seal his fate in hell if he somehow hadn't managed to do that all ready. Clint clenched his hand to stop it from shaking before he offered it to Jeff. "You have my word."

A toothy grin spread across Jeff's face as he shook Barton's hand. "Word on the street is some guy was boasting that he created some weapon that could stop Iron Man. He set up shop in Irish's old place. You remember it?" Clint nodded trying not to remember the atrocities that occurred there. "Anyways, Jäger made contact last month and there's been a flurry of activity there for the last two weeks. Zack said a bunch of official looking guys showed up two days ago; suspected that they worked for Hydra."

Clint reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty throwing it on the bar. Jeff grabbed his arm as he was sliding off the bar stool. "A word of friendly advice, if the hunter's involved, I'd stay as far away from that place as possible. We all know how tangling with him worked out for you last time." Barton just smiled and yanked his arm free. Walking to the door he waved Jeff off as the young man called, "I'll be in touch for that favor."

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Hawkeye adjusted the focus on his scope. The only supplies he had with him were the few things he kept at the tower. Technically he was AWOL, even though he had Fury's silent support, so he couldn't get any of the things he stored with SHIELD. He had his bow and arsenal of arrows, a rifle, knives, a few explosives, and a survival pack. After he finished up here, he would have to hit one of his storage sheds for more supplies.

He watched the building all night and had concluded that the only Avenger there was Tony. The others must be being held at different locations. When Clint had first arrived, he thought about getting reinforcements, but if Stark was the only one there he didn't want to risk losing any leads on the others due to another botch job on Zalle's part. They were also torturing Stark and he didn't want to leave his friend like that any longer than absolutely necessary.

The place was well fortified but the numbers dwindled in Clint's favor at three AM when a team of Hydra goons left to escort Stark's Iron Man suit back to their base of operations. He waited until dawn to launch his attack.

Switching the rifle for his bow he took out the two guards on the roof. Changing arrow heads he loosed the arrow with a gaffing hook head and tied the rope off on his end. He grabbed his duffel bag and began to transverse to the other roof. Making short of the lock on the roof access door and began his descent down the staircase to the third floor where Stark was being held.

He peered around the corner of the stair exit to make sure the hallway was clear and reaching in his duffel bag he pulled out a brick of C4 and a timer. Setting the explosive to go off in fifteen minutes, he quickly moved down the hall. Pulling his hand gun he dropped his bag when he got to the room Tony was in. Kicking the door open he took aim and shot the first two henchmen that came in view before ducking back behind the wall. Several bullets slammed harmlessly into the wall beside him and as the bad guys paused to reload, Clint came storming into the room again. Two more shots made short work of two more goons.

The Hydra interrogator grabbed a syringe off of his tray of implements and rushed behind the chair Stark was tied to. Placing the needle against Tony's throat he pulled the billionaire's head back by his hair to expose his neck more. "Put down the weapon and surrender or I will kill him."

Barton paused to consider the angles necessary to take the guy out when another guard entered the room and jumped him from behind. They both tumbled to the ground with the guard getting in a few kidney shots before Clint brought his elbow up and smashed it into the side of his head. The guard hit the floor hard and Hawkeye scrambled quickly getting his arm around the man's neck and twisting until he heard the pop.

The interrogator brought his arm back to stab Tony with the needle but Clint grabbed his gun and managed to get the shot off before the man slammed the needle into his friend's neck. Tony flinched at the thud the body made as it hit the floor and Clint was at his side immediately undoing the restraints on Stark's wrists and ankles.

"Tony! Are you with me?" asked Barton as he looked into the billionaire's glassy and unfocused eyes.

"Is that you little hawky?" he slurred as his head lulled to the side.

Barton glanced quickly at the vials on the tray; hallucinogens, sodium pentothal and a few other wonderful gems. He let out a frustrated huff and glanced at his watch. "Come on Stark, we have to go," he urged as he pulled Tony's arm over his shoulder and dragged his teammate to his feet.

Tony stumbled along beside him and Clint gently leaned him against the wall as he grabbed his duffel bag and looped the strap over Stark's shoulder. He then grabbed his bow and loaded an explosive arrow head. Smashing out the window in the hallway he took aim at the van parked out front. The ensuing fire ball distracted any of the remaining guards to the front of the building while Clint dragged Tony out the back. They just made the street as the C4 blew creating further havoc in their wake.

Stopping at a parked car, Clint leaned Tony against it, and then he jimmied the lock open. "Wait here," he ordered after he deposited Stark in the back seat. Not in any position to argue, Tony face planted into the soft back bench of the car.

Hawkeye sprinted back to the building and waited for one of the goons to run past him. As soon as one of the young men did, he jabbed his gun into their back causing the man to freeze. "Hands up and walk this way," ordered Clint as he maneuvered the guard back to the car Tony was waiting in.

Barton pulled out a zip tie from his bag and tied the guard's hands together before throwing him in the passenger's seat. It took a minute for him to hotwire the car and soon they were on their way to one of Clint's secret storage sheds.

Tony let out a few moans as he watched the world flash by from the backseat. His head was spinning and he was concentrating really hard on not puking all over Barton. Everything was fuzzy and every part of him ached fiercely. It didn't take long for him to decide that the darkness creeping around his vision was preferable to being awake and gave in leaving Clint alone with their captive guest.

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Stark let out a soft moan as he slowly opened his eyes; his hand gingerly probed his swollen eye to discover several stitches. Tony painstaking manoeuvred his aching body into a sitting position on the small cot. He found that all of his injuries had been tended to and either bandaged or stitched. Things were kind of fuzzy after the first injection he received but he seemed to recall Barton showing up at some point. It must have happened because Stark found that he wasn't restrained to the bed.

In the distance he could hear moans and small cries of pain. Tony gritted his teeth and pulled himself to his feet. He was in some sort of storage facility filled with rack after rack of weapons; it was like being in one of his factories. He followed the noise through the room until he happened upon Barton and a familiar looking thug who was tied to a chair and on the wrong side of Barton's knife.

Clint wiped the bloody blade on his pant leg but didn't look at the intruder. "Back with the living Stark?"

"I got to say I'm not liking what I see here Barton."

Clint delivered a final punch to his prisoner sending him off into the land of nod. "We'll I don't like it either but someone had to do it." He grabbed a rag off a nearby work bench and wiped the blood off his hands.

"Where are we?" asked Tony.

"A weapons cache." The ease at which Barton spoke in the face of recent events sent a slight chill down Tony's spine. It was one thing to know that Hawkeye was a master assassin and spy, but it was another to witness the man at work.

"SHIELD just keeps their goodies everywhere?"

"It's not SHIELD's, it's mine," came the brash response.

Tony took stock of the impressive array of weapons in the room. They could definitely launch an impressive assault with everything Clint had scraped together there. The familiar logo on the majority of the items present caught his attention. "There are a lot of Stark Industry weapons here."

The archer looked at Tony unapologetically. "A lot of your weapons end up on the black market. You might not like them Stark, but they do come in handy."

"I would have thought SHIELD would provide for you so you wouldn't have to resort to buying and stealing weapons."

"Only a fool in this business doesn't have an escape plan and the means to do it hidden away. I put several of these together for when SHIELD decides I've outlived my usefulness." Clint walked past Stark and began putting together the stuff they would need.

Stark considered what his friend just told him and felt kind of sad for the guy. Hawkeye had devoted his life to an agency that he total expected to sell him out one day and he believed that thought so completely that he took steps to ensure he had a chance at survival for when that day came. Stark, who was a complete asshole to everyone and excelled at alienating people, knew that his sheer brilliance kept people dependant on him. He knew his value and made sure everyone else knew it as well. Barton had much more to offer and still didn't believe it enough to justify his existence. Tony learned all the wrong ways that most people shouldn't be trusted but even he managed to find a few loyal souls; when it came right down to it Barton expected to be used and when he no longer had a purpose to someone else, to be disposed of like yesterday's trash. Perhaps the real depressing part of that whole revelation was that he seemed okay with that idea; that that was Clint's purpose in the universe.

Tony also found a new level of respect for his teammate. Thinking back to when the council was trying very hard to condemn the man to death, Clint had an escape all planned out but instead of taking it, he chose to face the firing squad to save his team.

"You and Bruce are really depressing, you know that?" Clint just shrugged. "So you want to catch me up on what's happening?" asked Tony.

"Hydra decided to implement the whole divide and conquer plan. They managed to capture the whole team. The council wanted to wait for Romanoff to get more Intel, but Fury supported my plan to get you guys back myself. Unfortunately it's just you and me," informed Barton.

Tony pondered that thought for a moment. Hoping for good news, he asked, "Any chance you grabbed my suit, cause I'm not going to be much help without it."

Clint shook his head. "We don't have time to go back to New York and get a spare. You'll just have to make do with what I have here. They transported it from your location last night; with any luck it will be where they're holding Bruce."

"And if we're not lucky?"

"How's your aim?" asked Barton as he handed Stark a handgun.


	7. Chapter 7

"This is a bad idea," proclaimed Stark as he watched Clint stuff their unconscious prisoner into the trunk of the car.

"Pretty much par for the course then." Barton slammed the trunk closed and moved to open the door to the back seat. He threw his duffel bag and closed the door. "Get in," he ordered Stark as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"What! We're just going to drive around with a guy in the trunk?" asked Tony as he put his seat belt on. He'd seen enough movies to know that that didn't end well.

"We'll leave him in the trunk and SHIELD can come and collect him from where we end up ditching the car. We have to get a move on because once they find out that you've escaped they're going to double up on reinforcements on the rest of the team and start making plans to move them. If that happens, we're done before we get going."

They had a four hour drive to get to the location Hydra was holding Bruce. While Tony wasn't sure if he approved of Barton's hidden talents, but they did produce results. The prisoner spilled his guts giving Hawkeye the location for Banner and a small idea of what kind of force they were going to be contending with. Hired help was still just hired help and the thug didn't have any real insightful information regarding Hydra's master plan involving the Avengers.

Whatever they were planning, Tony hoped they thought it out because he pitied anyone that thought they could do to Banner what they did to him. He would secretly enjoy the show because he was a fan of anyone that decided to torture him and his friends getting their asses handed to them but the Hulk educing rage they would bring forth was really overkill, and no one could be that stupid, could they?

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Tony lay next to Hawkeye on the roof across the street from the warehouse that Banner was supposed to be in. Stark glanced briefly at the Hydra personnel patrolling the grounds while Clint watched through a set of binoculars. The agent was searching the windows to try and get confirmation on their captive teammate.

"You know bird watching really isn't my thing," muttered Stark. Really, all of this wasn't his thing without his suit. He liked to believe that he was smart enough to overcome anything, but looking around, this was going to take skill that Tony just didn't possess as a regular guy. He would deny it to anyone, but Zalle might have a point about training to fight outside their element.

"Shut up Stark," snapped Clint. The assassin never moved a muscle except to shift the binoculars. Tony was envious of his calm and collected demeanour. "Got him; second floor fifth window over."

Clint started to army crawl backwards away from the ledge, and Tony followed suit though it was a less graceful than Barton. Taking the back fire escape, the pair moved back to their car.

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Bruce watched with mild curiosity, the flurry of activity around him. He'd been locked in a cage for four days under threat not to move or turn any shade close to green or Steve was going to pay the price. He'd been forced to watch a constant live video feed of Rogers being tortured, which was enough to make Banner want to unleash the Big Guy, but it had been made very clear that they could and would kill Steve at the first sign of trouble. He hoped the rest of the team was alright and that someone was on their way to rescue them.

That morning Bruce had been moved from his cage to this makeshift lab and strapped down to the table. There wasn't anything pleasant laying around and the doctor could only hope that they weren't going to be using any of the devices on him, because he knew at the first spark of pain there would be no stopping the Hulk from emerging.

Bruce watched as one of the goons wheeled over a machine that hummed to life after he flicked a switch. Picking up the two rods attached, the henchman tapped them together causing sparks to fly. Banner sighed, did they really think electrocution was the way to go.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned Bruce, "It will end badly for both of us."

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"What's it look like?" asked Tony as he watched Barton hiding weapons on his person.

"They're threatening him with torture." Clint handed Stark a set of explosives. "Wait for my signal then set the timers for five minutes, then get the hell out of the way. I need these set up on the support beams on the first floor of the building to the left of the warehouse."

An angry roar echoed through the industrial site. "You don't think they'd..." shuddered Stark. The Hulk would demolish everything including any clues they could use to find the rest of the team. If the Big Guy was as pissed as he sounded, he might not stop his reign of destruction when he happened upon his teammates.

Clint chuckled as he snapped his bow open. "They're not the brightest."

The pair ran back towards the warehouse feeling the ground shake beneath them. When they rounded the corner the warehouse was crumbling and the Hydra agents were scrambling for cover like ants.

"Okay, so Bruce can rescue himself. Who's next?" asked Stark as he took in the destruction that only took the Hulk four minutes to create.

"Stay here," ordered Barton as he placed his arrow back in his quiver in exchange for a Hulk sedative one. The archer ran into the middle of the chaos and took aim at the large green beast. Just as the arrow left his bow a bullet sliced his right arm. He hissed in pain but didn't drop his bow. Clint managed to pull a second arrow with a taser head and loosed it at the Hydra agent that had taken the shot at him.

The Hulk raged for a few more minutes effectively sending the few remaining Hydra goons fleeing the scene. Clint moved over to the thug he knocked out and dragged his body back to the car. The thud of the Hulk dropping sounded behind him.

Tony was leaning against the car as Barton came around the corner. Seeing the burden his friend was carrying, he moved over to help him out. "You're never going to make friends this way Barton."

"Not so interested in friends as information Stark. We're taking this van," explained Clint as he pointed to the vehicle parked across the parking lot. Tony grumbled, but helped drag the unconscious man over and held him as Clint picked the lock to open the doors in the back. Leaving Stark to watch the tied and gagged prisoner, Hawkeye made his way back to retrieve Banner.

The archer pulled Bruce over his shoulder and carried him back to their getaway vehicle. Barton breathed through the pain in his arm that his burden amplified but he couldn't afford to stop now. Clint put Bruce in the back beside Tony and the Hydra agent then climbed into the driver's seat.

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They pulled up in front of a seedy motel; the kind that didn't ask questions of any kind. Barton got them a room at the end of the row of accommodations and got everyone inside. Stark watched from the door as Hawkeye deposited Bruce on the bed to finish sleeping off effects of the sedative. He opted to wait out in the main room with the unconscious doctor while Clint had a little persuasive chat with the Hydra agent in the bathroom. Tony didn't really want to know why the assassin chose that room but Clint had mumbled something about easy clean up.

The billionaire was grateful for the extent that his teammate was willing to go to save the team and he had never been under the delusion that stuff like this didn't happen but it just didn't jive with the picture he had been painting of Barton since the archer became a constant in his life.

The muffled groan from the bed pulled Stark's attention. "Rise and shine, Bruce." Tony grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and offered it to a still sleepy Banner. Bruce took the bottle gratefully along with the aspirin Tony scrounged up.

"What happened?" asked the doctor.

"Hydra got the drop on us, if you can believe that. But never fear, Clint's an archer on a mission; SHIELD is doing its usual good job so it's you, me and Barton. We still have to rescue Cap and Thor. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to them would you?"

A scream of pain from the bathroom caused Bruce to tense. It wasn't Barton's voice, but somehow that didn't make him feel any better. "I don't know about Thor, but I know they have Steve. They were tor..." his voice trailed off for a moment as Clint emerged from the bathroom covered in blood. The archer turned off the light and closed the door behind him then made his way to the kitchen sink to try and clean up. Bruce followed him with his eyes, but continued to answer Stark's question. "They were torturing him for information; I had to watch it on a video feed. They said if I transformed they would kill him."

"So what changed, Doc?" asked Clint who was casually leaning against the counter like this was an everyday occurrence. Bruce eyed him sceptically, taking in all the blood that covered his friend. When he final found a patch of blood that actually belonged to the archer he made his way over to help patch the wound.

"Their leader was insistent that they leave me alone, but he left this morning. One of his lackeys thought he could do better, get me to talk. It didn't work out so well for him." He finished bandaging Clint's arm and Barton nodded appreciatively.

"Is there anything you can remember about where they were keeping Rogers?"

"From what it looked like it was a concrete room with a handful of guards. They didn't tell me where they were keeping him and I don't remember anything from after the battle. I wish I could be more help." Bruce sat next to Tony on the bed and gave an apologetic sigh. He could see the condition Stark was in and knew how horrible Steve looked last time he saw him. There was Thor to worry about as well; he hoped the Asgardian was faring better than the rest of them.

"This ringleader give you a name?" Barton was all business.

Banner racked his brain. He knew it had been mentioned, the man had tried to take the 'let's all be friends' tact with him to start with. "Jäger? I think that was it."

"The hunter," whispered Barton. Louder for everyone to hear he continued, "You two should make your way back to SHIELD."

Stark protested, "and what are you going to do? We still have to rescue Thor and Rogers!"

"I'm going to get them back. Based on what our friend in there told me," Clint pointed towards the bathroom, "I have a pretty good idea where to go next."

"You're not going alone. We're a team, we do this together." Stark let out a huff, "I'm starting to sound like Rogers."

Part of Clint felt relieved at the sentiment, but the last few months could argue that point. On the other hand, it would be nice to know people he trusted had his back on this one.


	8. Chapter 8

Stark was starting to think heading back to SHIELD wasn't such a bad idea. He just wasn't cut out for the spy aspect of the superhero gig. He knew why they didn't just send the Hulk in to level the highly guarded and fortified Hydra base, but he would prefer it to having to infiltrate the base himself. After all, Tony Stark does not blend into a crowd.

Bruce was holding position outside the complex monitoring the situation over their radios. If things went wrong, he was their Plan B. Hawkeye snuck himself and Stark onto the base with the intention of Stark making his way to the main server room in the complex, shutting down security and locking the place down so Clint could get in there and rescue Steve while engaging as few enemy agents as possible. It looked good on paper.

Clint broke into the observation room and dragged Stark in. The room overlooked the interrogation room and they could see Steve wasn't doing well, which was unusual seeing as he's Captain America. Stark hacked into the computer and located the main server room. He mapped out how to get there and was just about to leave to conduct his part of the plan when the bad guy launched into a typical monologue.

Jäger circled around the Captain taking in his work. Steve spit a glob of blood onto the floor and let his head lull to the side. He felt weak and sore, but Hydra hadn't done anything to him that should have left him feeling like that. He was a super soldier, but right now he felt as strong as he did before he signed up to be Captain America.

"Tell me the location of SHIELD's main base of operations," demanded Jäger as he grabbed a hold of Roger's jaw and forced the Captain to look him in the eye.

"Never," hissed Steve, trying to demonstrate his defiance.

"You don't need to suffer like this Captain. Tell me what I want to know and we will spare your life."

"The Avengers will stop you!"

"Ah, your team. They're not coming for you Captain. We've captured Banner, Stark and Thor; there's no one left to help you now," taunted the agent.

Steve smiled. "You forgot one."

"Yes, Hawkeye. I assure you we haven't forgot about him. We have no use for him and the last piece of information I received said that SHIELD had no use for that pathetic agent either; cut him from the Avengers team like the useless, incompetent piece of trash he is."

Rogers cautioned, "I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you."

Jäger let out a deep laugh. "I believe I have more experience with him than you do Captain, and rest assured I wouldn't waste my time with being concerned with him. I wouldn't even waste my men's time with capturing him. An archer, please; that's about as effective as you are right now," he scoffed. "Your team is stronger without him."

Stark glanced over at his friend to try and get a read on Clint. He was completely blank, but Tony knew that had to hurt, even a little; hell it hurt him.

Barton had heard it all before. Bad guys, superiors, coworkers, they all seemed to think he couldn't cut it. He knew he had proven himself over and over again, and in the eyes of anyone who's opinion he valued, they didn't believe he was completely useless, but hearing the bad guys laugh at his name instead of shuddering in fear stung a little. Was everyone on Zalle's page and when did that happen?

Tony caught the small frown that disappeared as quickly as Barton let it slip. "Are you seriously pouting because the bad guys didn't pick you to torture?"

"I'm not pouting!"

"If it makes you feel better, when we get back to the tower, I'll kick your ass."

Bruce could hear everything over the radios. "It's like working with children," he commented in an effort to spur the pair on towards their goal.

"Better get going Stark."

"Right." He really wasn't looking forward to this. Stark would never admit it, but Barton made the whole incognito thing look easy. Walking down the hall, trying to blend in was an exercise Tony didn't want to have to repeat.

Tony got into the main server room and got to work. His first task was the lights and lock down. Accessing the system from any computer on base, this would have been a challenge, but security in the main server room was child's play. After his main goal was accomplished, Tony monitored Barton's progress, but since he was the king of multitasking he decided to poke around and see what little gems he could find.

"Bingo!"

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The lights cut out and the men in with Rogers looked around puzzled. Unfortunately, Jäger had left the room mere moments before sparing him Hawkeye's wrath. The remaining agent sent his lackey to find out what was going on only to have the man offer a confused shrug when the electronic locking mechanism on the door didn't disengage.

Clint slipped out of the observation room and moved to the door to the interrogation room. He waved at the camera signaling Tony to open the door for him. He pulled his gun and with the silencer firmly in place burst into the room and dispatching the two Hydra men in the room.

"Check out time Cap," announced Clint as he set to work releasing Steve's restraints.

"B-bart-ton?" slurred Steve. He fell heavily into the archer's arms.

Clint grunted at the heavy burden now leaning on him. The pair started moving to the door when Barton noticed a jar containing a bright blue liquid. Thinking it might shed some light on the Captain's current state he pocketed it. It was a bit slow going to start, but Steve eventually managed to figure out a decent pace.

Once they were outside the room Barton radioed Stark. "Fastest way out here Stark?"

"Go left to the elevator. I'll have it waiting for you then it's a straight shot through the lobby. Everyone's locked down on the main level so there are just the three guards at the door. I'll meet you outside, something I have to do first."

Clint rolled his eyes. Tony left to his own devices was scary, but he couldn't drag Steve around trying to convince Stark to stick to the plan. They had just about made it to the elevator when footsteps came thundering down the hall.

"Shit," hissed Hawkeye as he caught sight of Jäger and a small contingent of men. "I thought you said everyone was locked down Stark!" he snapped into his radio while doubling his efforts to drag Rogers to the waiting elevator.

The Billionaire paused in his journey to one of the weapons lockers and pulled out his phone. He rechecked his connection to his remote hacking device. "Looks like your boy Jäger, has a level of clearance that allows him to override all lockouts, including mine."

"Not helpful Stark," replied Barton as he took a shot at one of the men. It wasn't the best shooting he'd done to date. Having to constantly shift position with Steve to get a shot off, then back again to keep them moving towards their exit while dodging bullets was proving more of a challenge than either man wanted at the moment.

Clint pushed Steve into the waiting elevator then turned and took out the four remaining Hydra agents. He locked eyes with Jäger, his clip was empty. Jäger leveled his gun and smiled. Barton threw himself into the open elevator just as the Hydra agent pulled the trigger. The last thing Clint saw through the closing doors was Jäger running towards the elevator.

"You okay?" asked Steve, still crumpled on the floor.

Barton took a moment to assess himself. The bullet clipped him in the calf; it would hurt but it wouldn't stop him. He nodded.

Clint pulled himself to his feet as the lobby grew closer. He held his hand out for Rogers who managed to pull himself up; he seemed a little steadier on his feet. Clint pulled a clip out of his back pocket and loaded the gun. The pair shared a nod that relayed their plan for when the elevator stopped. The doors dinged open and Hawkeye lead the charge. While he took out the three guards Rogers got himself to the front door. He felt Barton place a hand on his shoulder spurring him on to the outside.

Clint directed Steve to head right while he took care of the handful of men that were on patrol outside. The Captain headed for the building Clint had pointed out as fast as he could manage. Steve felt completely useless in his ability to make a quick getaway and his inability to help his teammate engage the enemy, but he knew if he tried to help he would just get in the way.

Rogers stopped when Bruce grabbed his arm and pulled him into the alley behind the building they were using as their rally point. Steve leaned against the brick wall and slowly sank to the ground.

"You alright?" asked Bruce.

"I'll be fine; just need a minute," assured Rogers as he tried to catch his breath.

"Where the hell is Tony?" asked Barton as he rounded the corner to join them having taken care of any immediate threats.

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Stark ran down the hall. He was thankful he was a technical genius because he couldn't imagine having to get through that much of the facility relying solely on his physicality. His good fortune had come to an abrupt end as he reached the weapons lockers; three goons were sealed inside. Stark paused for a moment. He'd seen Barton and Romanoff do this hundreds of times and he was no stranger to combat; he boxed, sometimes. If the bird could do it without super powers and make it look super cool he could do it and be effective. Tony unhooked a nearby pipe to take in there with him, just in case.

The billionaire popped the lock. The agents were only momentarily stunned to see Tony Stark stroll into the room before jumping into action. The years messing around at batting cages paid off as Tony took the first guy out with a tremendous crack of the pipe knocking the man off his feet and into unconsciousness. The second guy got in a lucky punch to Starks head but he answered by driving the end of the pipe into his stomach. The third thug took a swing and managed to knock the second guy out when Stark ducked the fist. Help was help and he wouldn't argue over where it came from and if he wasn't preoccupied with staying alive he would have come up with a witty remark about Hydra agents taking themselves out.

Realizing his humiliating error the third man came back with a vengeance and lunged at the inventor knocking him to the ground. The metal pipe clanged to the ground. Tony gasped as he tried to get air back in his lungs. The thug kicked Stark onto his stomach and tried to kick him again as Tony tried to crawl towards his dropped weapon. Tony kicked the agent in the knee then crawled the last few feet to grab his weapon. He grabbed the pipe and brought it down on the agent until he passed out.

"I can see why Thor likes his hammer," Stark muttered as he tossed the weapon aside and went to open one of the lockers. The lock gave way without much protest and the doors slide open to reveal Tony's goal. "Come to papa."


	9. Chapter 9

"Sitting down on the job I see Cap," declared Iron Man as he hovered over the team. Tony felt a certain amount of frustration leave him now that he had his suit back; maybe it was the fact that he was going to be superhero useful again.

"Well it looks like you found your party favour," replied Banner.

"But wait there's more... my amazing hacking abilities have produced the location of our good buddy Thor, so what do you all say we go get the band back together?"

"Stark's right, we should get out of here. His override isn't going to hold forever and we need to get Cap somewhere until whatever they gave him wears off." Clint reached into his pocket and tossed the jar he confiscated to Bruce. "I think that might be it; maybe you can figure out what it is."

The doctor eyed it carefully. "I can do that; we should also take a look at you."

"I'm fine doc." Barton started to move towards their vehicle.

"The limp says otherwise," corrected Banner as he helped Steve get to the van.

"We have to go get Thor," reminded Hawkeye as he slammed the driver's door. Bruce and Tony climbed in, willing to let the subject drop for now but preparing for a battle when they arrived at some place where they could take a moment to breathe.

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The assembled Avengers stayed the night at a dive motel in the middle of nowhere. No one wanted to stop because they could all imagine what Hydra was doing to Thor, but they recognized the need to stop. They won't do their friend any good if they were falling apart.

Steve crashed hard despite his best efforts to stay awake and form plans with the team. Clint and Tony were the ones doing most of the planning; Bruce was trying to figure out what the substance Barton found was and while JARVIS could be very helpful, the AI was limited in the help it could offer the doctor out in the middle of nowhere. It took a fair bit of pestering, but Banner managed to check the archer's leg wound. Banner had to agree that it wasn't too bad. Cleaned and bandaged it should hold out until they got back to the tower where Bruce was going to find someone to enforce bed rest for the team's personal saviour.

Barton took the first watch and volunteered for the last shift as well. Bruce took the second watch and was awake when Steve came to, though personally he wished he didn't have to witness Captain America puking his guts out in a dirty bathroom of a very questionable motel.

"I know you feel like crap, but it's probably a good thing. Your body's trying to get rid of whatever they gave you to negate your superpowers," offered Bruce as he handed Rogers a cup of water and a towel.

Steve gave a meek smile in return. "What did I miss?"

Bruce started to rattle off what he understood of their plan, but Steve just shook his head. "Before that," clarified the Captain.

"From what Tony told me, Barton went against Council orders and SHIELD's suggested course of action and came after us. He found Tony first, then they came after me. After Clint got persuasive with one of the Hydra soldiers, we had your location and the rest you know."

"And Zalle and Marks?" Rogers knew the answer, but Bruce's silence confirmed it. Funny how they were a team until something happened and taking action might look unfavourable to the council. Clint who had effectively been kicked off the team to satisfy some power trip by their new handler had risked his life along with his career to come after them; not that Steve had doubted his loyalty for a second. The Director and he were going to have a long talk when they got back.

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"Well that plan's a bust," commented Stark as he scanned the Hydra complex, "On to Plan, what are we on, like H now?" Hydra maybe slow learners but when they did catch on, they did it in a big way. All the information Tony had liberated from the last base didn't prepare them for the step up in security that had happened since the rest of the team had escaped.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Bruce.

The team pondered their limited options. They had waited long enough and didn't want to take time to gather supplies, so they had to work with what was available, which wasn't a lot. Rogers was able to stand on his own two feet, but they were doubtful he could take on the hoards of agents presently guarding the facility. They couldn't send the Hulk in there blind; Thor's location within the base was unknown, and they couldn't risk sicing the Hulk on the wrong part of the building.

"Stark, do you think you can find a way to hack into their systems and get a location on Thor?" asked Steve.

Tony rechecked the schematic he pulled searching for any available places to access their computers. He shook his head. "Have to be inside, which brings us back to our original problem."

"I can get inside, if you can make a homing device. I'll get to Thor and you guys can launch our assault on the base," suggested Clint.

"No way! We're not letting you walk in there and what just turn yourself over to the enemy? How do you know they won't kill you on sight?" argued Steve.

"We don't really have a choice if you want in there Cap. Security is on high alert, there's too many of them for just you, me and Stark to take out without Banner. Trust me, Jäger's not going to shoot me on sight; he'll want to gloat."

"Just how do you know this guy Legolas?" asked Stark.

Barton snapped, "It's a long story."

"One I look forward to hearing when this is done," retorted the billionaire.

"Knock it off you two," chastised the Captain, "I can't ask you to go in there alone on what will probably constitute as a suicide run Barton."

"It won't be if you guys can get in there and you're not asking, I'm telling." Hawkeye folded his arm across his chest and dared anyone to come up with a better plan.

"Get to work Stark," sighed Steve. He couldn't help but feel he was letting down his teammate by not being at a hundred percent. If they had to risk Barton, Rogers was going to be damn sure he had the best chance and to do that Tony had to get to work on making a full proof homing device. They were playing the waiting game again, but it looked like they would be doubling down before long. Rogers just hoped the house was going to lose this round.

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The guards manhandled their prisoner into the interrogation room. Without any kindness, they shoved him hard through the door causing him to land hard on his knees. Jäger looked over with delight; when things went right they went right. Thor twisted his head to see who the guards had brought in. His heart skipped a beat as he laid eyes on his teammate.

Clint looked up defiantly and spit at one of the guards. A quick backhand caused the archer's head to snap to the side and his lip to split. Jäger returned the small silver blade in his hand to the metal table next to the wall where Thor was restrained.

"I see you're here alone," chuckled Jäger, "your friends grow tired of your failure already? Maybe they just don't want a soulless nothing tainting the moral compass of the mighty Avengers?"

Clint took a deep breath and blocked the man out. He sought out Thor and tried to convey to him that the team was on their way and not to lose hope. The god of thunder looked terrible; there was so much blood. The archer recognized the knife on the table as one of the ones Loki favored; the weapon of a god that could hurt a god. Clint felt his stomach tighten. There was an extremely good chance that Loki's weapons were accessible because of him. Any one of the blades used from Loki's last trip could have fallen into the wrong hands, not to mention the two the god of mischief gave him before Barton set to work on getting the iridium.

The archer couldn't let Jäger get to him. He had tried desperately to make up for the things he had done and kept secret the misdeeds he had yet to atone for and no matter how painful Thor's inquisitive look was at Jäger's rant, Clint had to put it aside for later. Right now, he had to keep Jäger from continuing with the Asgardian, he had to hold out until the heroes could swoop in and save the day. He would deal with his own personal demons when innocent lives weren't hanging in the balance.

Jäger commanded, "Bring him over here." The guards obeyed quickly and hauled Barton to his feet. Jäger picked up the blade and twirled it in his hand. Clint knew what was coming next and it felt like a lead weight dropping in his stomach. "You can do it, or I can."

A slight tremble ran through Clint at the haunting words. He fought the urge to crawl into a corner and disappear; to keep the memories of the past locked away and out of his conscious thoughts. If he gave into the fear he thought he had long since vanquished, then Thor was going to suffer. After all the god had done for the archer, he couldn't let him suffer needlessly because of his weakness.

The guards let go of Clint and he stood there stiff, unwilling to take the step closer to his tormentor. He felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head and closed his eyes as he remembered his promise of never again. Barton swallowed; this was different, he could do this, had to do this. With a trembling hand, he reached over and accepted the knife Jäger held out for him. Nothing would satisfy Clint more than the plunge the dagger in the man's throat and kill the self-satisfied smug look on his face. Stall for time he reminded himself.

"Put it through his hand," instructed Jäger.

Clint sucked in a shaky breath. He prayed Thor would be able to heal from this as quickly as he could other Misgardian inflicted injuries; he didn't want to be the cause of Thor being unable to wield Mjolnir again. He would do it, he had to buy time. Barton gripped the blade and plunged it into Thor's hand.

Thor howled at the sudden explosion of pain in his already weakened body. Normally, he would have been able to hide his pain more but the lead Hydra agent had Loki's weapons, which were highly effective against him and the god had been at their mercy for so long.

Hawkeye dropped his eyes to the ground unable to look at the hurt in Thor's eyes. He wanted to explain that it was the only way to save him, wanted to beg for forgiveness at not being strong enough to come up with a better rescue plan.

"Looks like loyalty, like your conscience, can be swayed by a gun." Jäger was practically salivating at the prospect of all the fun games he could play with his guests. "Let's see if we can disembowel a god."

The archer felt the gun jabbed against his head again at the same moment he felt the soft buzz of the homing device indicating Stark had a lock on their position in the complex. Clint turned sharply and slammed his elbow into the nose of the guard holding the gun on him. The man dropped dead to the ground when the bone smashed into his brain. Clint surged forward, knife in hand and cut through Thor's bonds.

The Asgardian took a moment to collect himself before aiding his friend with the guards. He pummeled the second guard with sheer satisfaction.

Barton went after Jäger, gleaming silver blade in hand. He swiped at the taller man catching the fabric of his shirt. Jäger grabbed the cattle prod that was resting on the table and slammed it into the side of Hawkeye's head. The Avenger drove his arm up catching the enemy in the upper arm; bright red blood seeped from the shallow wound. Jäger brought his fist down and cracked Clint in the jaw before shoving the prod harshly in his stomach and depressing the trigger, sending two thousands volts through the archer.

Clint spasmed and contorted from the pain. Jäger let up but for a moment, but it was enough for Barton to jab the knife into his foot. The man howled and hissed before striking at Clint again. This time the prongs of the cattle prod cut across his cheek.

The wall exploded and the roar of the Hulk could be heard in the distance. Rogers ran into the room via the door Stark had just created and kicked the man towering over Clint in the back of the knee. Jäger's body slammed into the Captain, knocking him over as the Hydra agent made his getaway. Iron Man was about to follow, before Steve called him off. "Leave him. We have to get Thor and Clint out of here."

Tony nodded and moved to assist Thor. Steve helped Barton to his feet and together they managed to clear the building. They were uncontested in the yard thanks to the Hulk who had taken out most of the guards and had the rest on the run. All the fortifications in the world didn't seem enough to stop blinding green rage.


	10. Chapter 10

Barton sighed and shook his head. Just once couldn't things be that easy? The Hulk had the majority of the enemy on the run, but Jäger had managed to find some friends and now had the four Avengers surrounded. Steve subtly passed Clint's bow over to him.

"On three, you guys move towards that building to the left; it'll offer the most protection. I'll take out the guys on the right with an explosive arrow," whispered Clint. The others gave varying small gestures indicating they understood the plan. Clint hooked his hand around the strap of his quiver that Rogers had strapped on his back to keep it safe when the archer served as decoy. On three, Barton pulled it off, snapped open his bow and loosed the arrow while his team made for cover.

The explosion rocked the nearby building burying several of the Hydra agents. Iron Man managed to take out a group on the left as Captain America helped Thor move to cover. Clint took shelter behind a dumpster as the Hydra agents opened fire. He kept Stark covered and was slowly thinning the herd when SHIELD showed up.

"Better late than never," mumbled Hawkeye as he lined up his next shot to take out a sniper aiming for one of the newly arrived SHIELD agents. He wondered if the backup actually helped or if they just created more targets for Hydra to hit, but they did manage to get the small meager resistance to flee; unfortunately, Jäger was among them.

Agent Marks walked triumphantly around the corner with one of Hydra's Lieutenants in restraints. "Well done Agent," praised Zalle as she walked on the scene.

"Seriously?!" shouted Stark as he dropped to the ground beside Barton. "I don't recall him being there for the torture, the rescuing and the saving the day… the torture!"

"Agent Marks has just captured a person of interest for SHIELD. We've been waiting to get our hands on an agent from this division for months and now we have one. I do look forward to your reports which will be on my desk in the next forty-eight hours." She turned on her heels and briskly escorted Marks and their prize to a waiting vehicle.

"Did we seriously just get out shined by someone who was tardy to the party?" asked Tony as he waved his hands around in outrage.

"Let's just go home," huffed Clint.

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Rogers barged into Fury's office, ignoring the protests from Hill. The Director silently waved her off as Steve approached his desk. Once the office door was closed, Steve launched into his tirade.

"I'm done with the games. We lay our lives on the line time and time again for the world, and yeah I know we messed up, but enough! The team is made up of extremely unorthodox people, but their hearts are in the right place. We may not get it right every time, but we try and when we do mess it up you know we'll stop at nothing to make it right. We work damn hard and this team doesn't deserve the crap Agent Zalle is heaping on us. We saved the world; you'd think it would count for something. I want my god damn team back sir; all of them! Barton's reinstated to the team and bring Romanoff back."

Fury glared at the man towering over his desk. Captain America's jaw was set, his shoulders square and nothing short of a world-ending disaster was going to move him from that spot. In his ever calm voice, he replied, "what took you so long Captain?"

"Excuse me?"

"I thought I'd see one of you in here the second Zalle hit Stark Tower. I was even shocked that you let her kick Barton off the team."

"You told us to play nice, that our performance was going to determine the future of the team," challenged Rogers.

"When have any of you ever listened to orders?" countered the Director.

"Do you realize what you put us through? How Zalle treated Banner, what she did to Barton?"

"He needed that." Steve screwed his face up in disbelief. "I've known that boy for a long time and he needed this. I didn't plan the Hydra attack but it worked to my advantage. Barton needed to prove to himself that he could do it, that he wanted it. That drive had been missing since New Mexico. If he continued to go through the motions like he has been the last year, he was going to get himself killed, and I can't allow that to happen pointlessly. As for the rest of you, you seem to rally rather well when you have a common enemy, be it Loki, Hydra or a pain-in-the-ass handler."

"She's gone then?"

Fury nodded.

"Marks is out of here!"

"I have no use for spineless agents."

"Barton's back on the team."

"Probably wouldn't have taken off by himself if he wasn't whole heartedly on your team."

Steve nodded, feeling the knot in his stomach start to unravel. "Romanoff?"

"No. She asked for the assignment and it needs to be seen through. When that's complete, I'll leave the decision in her hands."

"Alright," agreed Steve.

Fury smiled when his guest left his office. Despite the unforeseen challenges of the last few days, things worked out rather well. Hydra had suffered a major setback. SHIELD had learned of possible projects designed to target the Avengers and exploit weakness, Barton was getting back on track, and Captain America had just lived up to his title.

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Clint was perched on the couch trying to watch TV despite Tony's constant attempts to get the archer to acknowledge him. The billionaire had resorted to hovering a foot from Barton's face.

"Do you have a death wish Tony?" asked Bruce as he surveyed the scene he was walking in on. It was mostly a joke, but recent events had shined a very bright light on exactly what their teammates skill set was and what he was willing to do. It was a reminder of just how dangerous each Avenger was; an unspoken pact had been established that they would bury the truth along with their personal demons, doing their best to forget certain aspects of the last few months. It was a fine line between humor and horror they tried to walk around each other in an attempt to restore the somewhat comfortable rapport they had once shared.

"Nah, Natasha is the violent one that jumps straight to dismemberment. Clint's cold, calculated, quiet revenge. I'll have about a week before he kills me." Tony smiled maintaining his proximity to Barton.

"Alright then," Banner said as he collected the book he was after and left his friends to whatever it was Tony was trying to do.

"Are you going to spill or what bird boy? You said it was a long story and since we're on leave for the moment nothing is going to interrupt you so…."

Clint remained a stone wall glaring at the TV.

"Thor said whatever was going on between you and Jäger was rather heated and personal…"

"Thor wasn't really in a position to be aware of what was going on. It's not important Tony, so let it go. I know a lot of people, you're never going to know about all of them," snapped the archer, never looking at his teammate.

"I don't want to know about all of them; I want to know about this one. He seems kind of intense and rather focused on you. Now as a concerned teammate, is this going to come back and bite you in the ass later?"

"Most things usually do Stark. It's done, you can just forget about it," explained Barton as he shut off the TV and headed to the door.

"You want to talk about it?" asked Stark, going for a more earnest approach. He could tell that it was simmering just below the surface; that Clint needed to share his burden, but was either too proud or afraid to ask for help.

"I really don't. Just leave it alone," replied Clint as he left the room.

"Can't do that Barton," said Tony to the now empty room. He diligently began sifting through the files he had hacked from SHIELD, looking for some answers. He'd figure it out, with or without Clint's help. The team was almost back together and he was going to make sure it stayed that way.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU to everyone that read this story!!  
> Thank you to those who left comments and kudos, they are appreciated.


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